"Viktor Frankl"by Kenneth Billings

Frankl was a neurologist and psychiatrist.

Viktor Frankl left this world at the age of 92 but his contributions continue to impact the world of Psychiatry to this day. Viktor Frankl's life experiences, particularly while a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps, provided him with the data he used to develop his theory of Logotherapy. Logotherapy defines the motivational force in humans as the search for life's meaning (Viktor Frankl Institute, n.d.). This paper will focus on Viktor Frankl's theories and their effect on the world of Psychology. Tracing Frankl's life experiences provides insight into Frankl's theories and beliefs. Viktor Frankl was born on March 26, 1905 in Vienna, the second of three children. During the First World War the family went through bitter deprivation. Often the children had to go to nearby farms and beg for food just to survive. Viktor was just 16 years old when he gave his first public lecture on "The Meaning of Life". At that young age Viktor was already thinking and speaking about the meaning of life; one of the three concepts that his logotherapy is based upon. When he graduated high school in 1925, he was involved in intense correspondence with Sigmund Freud. Just a year later in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, and Berlin, Frankl used the word Logotherapy for the first time. In 1937 Viktor opened his own practice as a Doctor of Neurology and Psychiatry. The following year Hitler invaded Austria. Frankl obtained a visa and would have been able to go America however he made a pivotal decision and stayed in Austria with his parents (Boeree, n.d.). Viktor married Tilly in 1941, but just a year later he was arrested with his wife and his parents by the Nazis. They were deported to the concentration camp Theresienstadt. Viktor's Father died of exhaustion at Theresienstadt. Two years later Viktor, Tilly and his mother were sent to another concentration camp, Auschwitz. Frankl's mother was sent to the gas chamber and his wife was sent to Bergin-Belsen where she died. Frankl was then sent to the camp Dachau where he suffered with typhoid fever. Despite these tragic and extreme conditions, Frankl still found motivation to record his observations and develop his theory about fate and freedom. During the night he stayed awake to avoid fatal collapse by reconstructing his manuscript. Dachau was liberated on April 27, 1945 and Viktor was free. In addition to the loss of his father at Theresienstadt, Viktor had also lost his wife, mother, and brother at Auschwitz (Viktor Frankl Institute, n.d). Frankl was the director of the Vienna Neurological Policlinic for the next 25 years. Frankl wrote his acclaimed book EIN PSYCHOLOG ERLRBT DAS KONZENTRATIONSLAGER which translates into "Man's Search for Meaning." With his dissertation on "The Unconscious God" he obtained his Ph.D. in 1948. Frankl created, and was the first president of the "Austrian Medical Society for Psychotherapy." Frankl became a Professor at the University of Vienna and held professorships at various universities overseas. He continued to write many books and lecture at various universities abroad. Viktor Frankl died in 1997, right after his last book was published Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning (Viktor Frankl Institute, n.d). Frankl's theories were influenced by many of the life experiences described in this paper. His experiences that contributed to the development of Logotherapy probably came from his observations in the Nazi death camps and the deprivation he experienced as a child. He observed that, excluding those who were murdered, the prisoners that maintained hope or the will to survive tended to do better then those who lost all hope. Logotherapy is from the Greek word logo, which means study, word, spirit, God, or meaning. Frankl focused on "meaning." Viktor compared himself to the other great Viennese psychiatrists Freud, and Adler. Freud essentially postulated a "will to pleasure" as the root of all human motivation, and Adler hypothesized a "will to power". Logotherapy proposes a "will to meaning". (Boeree, 2006) Despite being colleagues with Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, Frankl's work was not always well respected. Frankl started challenging their beliefs of Freud and Adler. The dominate theory at the time in history was that people were driven by the need to gratify physical needs, a "will to pleasure." Frankl saw humankind differently. Frankl proposed that human beings are unique; driven by a "will to meaning," possessing free choice and the capacity for self-transcendence. Frankl's experiences as a child having to beg for food, losing his family in the concentration camps and his observations of the prisoners, solidified ideas that had started to develop in his youth. Frankl found himself the lone dissenter; .Frankl was taunted and his lectures were shunned. (Biderman, N.D.) Though he may or may not be a hypnotist, Victor Frankl's Logotherapy coincides with hypnosis in the search for information of self in order to find means to cope with disastrous situations. His ability to "talk himself" into a condition which enabled him to cope with his terrible situation at the Nazi concentration camp can most certainly be equated to hypnotic trance, His search for meaning is certainly a process similar to the utilization techniques of Ericksonian therapy, (Durbin, 1998, p.4). When asked if Frankl would have agreed with the previous quote regarding putting himself into a hypnotic trance, Durbin answered, "Not sure, but when we talk to ourselves or imagine something or visualize something, or rewriting his book, that is a form of self-hypnosis," (personal communication, March 14, 2011). Frankl developed a technique called "paradoxical intention." To explain this, when a patient with a phobia is afraid of something that might happen to them, the logotherapist encourages the patient to wish for just what it is that makes the patient afraid. The premise is that problems are created by one's own desire to avoid them as much as the problem itself. In use of paradoxical intention, the patient forms a detachment from her problem, often by laughing at the perceived problem. This method of "paradoxical intention" is called "desensitization" in Hypnotherapy. (Durbin, 1998) Durbin discusses Frankl and the Existential Vacuum, "The existential vacuum is often experienced as a state of boredom. Frankl refers to this let down due to leisure time as the "Sunday Neurosis." This kind of depression affects people who become aware of the lack of content and meaning in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest, (Durbin, 1998, p.9) Frankl shared his theory that man's environment does not determine the man but the man's attitude and what he makes of his environment "make" the man (Durbin, 1998). . In Durbin's article, "Alfred Adler and Viktor Frankl's Contribution to Hypnotherapy", he stated that Frankl felt that Freud's pleasure principle was self-defeating. "Pleasure is missed when it is the goal and attained when it is the side effect of attaining a goal," (Durbin, 1998, p.7) Paul Durbin was asked if it was correct to say then the satisfaction a person experiences through volunteer work is a pleasurable "side-effect" of their goal to help others. Durbin replied, "Yes. When trying so hard to experience what you want it becomes a drawback. For example, the person who tries too hard at good sex, generally misses it. In hypnosis, we say the harder you try the more difficult it becomes. One of the convincers in hypnosis is say to the client, close your eyes, feel them getting tighter and tighter and you can try to open them the harder you try the tighter they stick. You can try, but they just want open, now relax the eyes and they open easily" (personal communication, March 14, 2011). Franklian Philosophy can be summarized as: 1. The belief in a healthy core is the basis of Franklian Psychotherapy; 2. The principle goal is to help the person become aware of the resources of their healthy core and to help them use these resources; 3. Life does not owe you happiness, it offers you meaning, (Viktor Frankl Institute, n.d.). By reviewing aspects of Frankl's life and discussing some of his theories and applications one can begin to picture the tremendous effect Frankl has had on the world of psychology. Durbin, author of articles on Frankl and his contributions to hypnotherapy, stated that, "Dr. Frankl's "Logotherapy" has had a profound influence on my life and therapy," (personal communication, March 14, 2011). Frankl authored 32 books that were published in 32 languages. His book Man's Search for Meaning sold over five million copies. There is no question Frankl's work has and continues to educate clinicians and help patients in the vast domain of psychology.Works Cited Biderman, J. (n.d.). The Rebbe and Viktor Frankl. Retrieved March 2011, from Chabad.org: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1201321/jewish/The-Rebbe-and-Viktor-Frankl.htm Boeree, D. C. (n.d.). Vikto Frankl Personality Theories. Retrieved March 2011, from Web Spaceship: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/frankl.html Durbin, P. G. (2002) Alfred Adler and Viktor Frankl's Contribution To Hypnotherapy. Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis. Retrieved March 12, 2011, from http://www.robertottohypnosis.com/resources/articles/alderandfrankl.pdf Durbin, P.G.(1998). Kissing Frogs; Practical Uses of Hypnotherapy (2nd edition). Dubuque, IA:Kendall Hunt Pub Co. Institute, V. F. (n.d.). Viktor Frankl Institute. Retrieved march 2011, from Viktor Frankl Institute: http://logotherapy.univie.ac.at/e/chronology.html